?Tottenham would be able to pip Manchester United to the signing of Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale in January, because of a special first refusal clause in his contract.

When the London club sold the Welsh winger for £85m back in 2013, chairman Daniel Levy ensured that they would be able to stand a chance of re-signing him one day, just in case.

As it happens, Bale’s time in Madrid has not quite panned out the way he would have hoped so far – unfortunately, multiple injuries have hindered his expected transition into a bonafide world superstar, and instead left him with Los Blancos supposedly wanting to cut ties with him.

The 28-year-old, remarkably, has missed around 60% of games for the Spanish giants, and local reports have claimed Zinedine Zidane and Florentino Perez have run out of patience.

As reported by the ?Express, if United were to offer an acceptable amount of money for Bale in January, then Tottenham would be able to take him for the same amount thanks to the first refusal clause should they so wish.

It is understood that Real would be prepared to make a slight loss on Bale, given his shocking injury record, and some outlets have reported they’d be happy with a figure around the £65m mark.

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Spurs lack a top quality wide man at the moment, with Erik Lamela a long term injury absentee, Georges Kevin N’Koudou out of favour and Moussa Sissoko having not cut the mustard since his move from Newcastle.